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One of the questions that come up often when users of the online survey software start analyzing their data: "Novi Survey has generated this great report chockfull of graphs and data tables. How do I include some or all of these in a Word document or a PowerPoint presentation?"
There are several ways this type of information transfer from the survey tool to other software packages can be done:
Method 1:
Use the PDF export tool available in the report window for the survey tool. The PDF export tool appears as an icon in top right hand corner of the report. The tool will generate a PDF file containing all the data in the report.
Specific section of text (e.g., data tables) can then be extracted from by selecting section of the PDF and using the copy function. If using Acrobat Reader, you can right-click on an image and select "copy image" in the contextual menu. Acrobat Reader and most other PDF viewing tool also support the key combination CTRL-C to copy selected content.
Note that when using this method, the formatting for the text and data tables may not be transferred completely (e.g., the text weight may transfer but the table grid lines may not).
Method 2:
Copy and paste directly from the report window into the other software package (e.g., MS-Word or PowerPoint). This method will work great for both text and images.
For text, all the formatting should transfer from the online survey tool report window to the other package, at least when using an HTML aware package such as MS-Word or PowerPoint.
For data graphs in the report, the best way to copy and paste is to right-click on the graph and choose "copy" in the contextual menu. Then, when pasting, choose the "Paste Special" option and then the "Device Independent Bitmap" option. In MS-Word and Powerpoint, the "Paste" icon is on the "home" tab under the "Clipboard" group. Click on the arrow just below to "Paste" icon allows to choose the "Paste Special" option, which in turn open a new dialog with the "Device Independent Bitmap" option.
Following this method for extracting data graphs from a report in the survey software will typically produce higher quality results than extracting the graphs from the PDF as detailed above.
Method 3:
Transfer the entire content of the report into MS-Word. This method is suitable when a large section is desired rather than a few data tables or graphs. To transfer an entire report from the survey software into word, copy the URL shown in the location bar of the browser with the report.
In MS-Word, use the File - Open function (CTRL-O will work also). Paste the URL in the "File name" text box at the bottom file open dialog window. IMPORTANT: at the end of the URL add "&p=1" (do not include the quotation marks). After pasting the URL, click "Open". A new "Convert file" dialog will open. Choose option "HTML Document", which should be selected by default.
Voilà! The entire report is now in Word. You may have to do a little cleanup and reformatting but all of the text and the graphs from the report will be available.
Happy surveying.
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